Dassault Systèmes Takes over 3D City Modelling Pioneer

Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company and a world leader in 3D design, 3D digital mock-up and product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, has announced its takeover of Archividéo, a leader in the automated creation and management of large 3D urban environments and landscapes.

The acquisition of Archividéo, based in Rennes, France, brings a new dimension to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE strategy and platform, extending it to urban environment planning with 3D city and landscape modelling technology. 

The acquisition marks an important development for the company, commented Bernard Charlès, president and CEO, Dassault Systèmes. The next step for sustainable planning is to imagine cities, countries or industrial fields in 3DEXPERIENCE universes. The goal at Dassault Systèmes is the harmonising of products, nature and life through 3DEXPERIENCE universes. With the integration of Archividéo technology within the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, the company will provide a 3D model of any country to simulate ‘what if’ scenarios of energy, transportation, or construction flows compliant with reality.

This type of 3D city model allows consistent and accurate merging of multiple sources of data (from open-data to proprietary information), and provides an independent referential for a city and all the players involved in it. Archividéo’s heuristic technology enables that geophotographic modeling, and procedural modeling technologies, complex urban and geo-environment models can be quickly created, with deep detail and tight mapping to the real-world environment.

The partnership between Archividéo and the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information is emblematic of a successful collaboration, enhanced by the co-published online service Territoire3D, said Pascal Berteaud, managing director of the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN). He said IGN welcomes the rapprochement between Archividéo and Dassault Systèmes and the prospects it opens for simulating cities and their development projects: future impacts, access to information, and collaboration of all stakeholders in the city and citizens.

Archividéo has over 250 customers, ranging from cities and municipalities to major utilities and other technology companies. The potential of Archividéo’s technology and applications is broad. The addition of Dassault Systèmes’ technology to Archividéo’s will provide Archividéo customers a strong partner. 

This acquisition will power the 3DEXPERIENCity Innovation Lab. A positive development for countries like China, that are facing urbanisation complexity to anticipate country development and to improve citizens’ quality of life.